Vegetable production programme bears fruit

A government initiative to reduce vegetable imports is bearing fruit, with Siem Reap province producing 1,432 tonnes of veggies last year, according to a public official.

Tea Kimsoth, director of Siem Reap’s agricultural department, said that under the government-led Boosting Food Production programme, vegetable yields in the province have markedly increased in the last two years.

He said Siem Reap now produces 36 different types of vegetables over 221 hectares of land. Many of the farmers in the province now work under contract farming schemes.

“With the number of tourists to Siem Reap growing rapidly, it was important to increase the production of safe, quality vegetables,” he said.

Although he didn’t have data to support his claim, Srey Vuthy, spokesman at Ministry of Agriculture, said that due to the success of the programme, imports of vegetables in the province have already declined.

Read more...